Kiss the Girl
by The Goliath Beetle
Summary: Starling urges Aerrow to kiss Piper. REWRITTEN. I own nothing, so don't sue me! XD


Kiss the Girl

* * *

**A/N: This was meant to be a songfic. But this is the second time I'm rewriting the story, and I removed the song. I found it tended to interfere with the substance. It is, however, based of the song 'Kiss the Girl' by Ashley Tisdale. **

* * *

Sometimes, the most unusual days can be the ones that seem to be the most tedious…

What was so special about today? At the moment, nothing, as I shall narrate to you. In the Condor, the Storm Hawks' airship, Finn and Junko were making a sandwich, Piper was doing some map-work out on the bridge, Aerrow was reading, and Stork was poisoning Radarr's mind with what seemed to be misinformation about Fuzzybuns. To this day, what a Fuzzybun is still eludes me, but nevertheless, it sounds like something cute, small and (naturally) fuzzy.

What they didn't realise was that Starling, the lone sky-knight, was near-by, riding a terribly damaged skimmer, leaving a trail of smoke behind her. She came upon the Condor with a cry of relief, and radioed them in with what little functionality her ride had left. "Storm Hawks," she said, her English accent prominent as ever. "This is Starling. I was ambushed my a few Talons, and though I took care of them, my skimmer isn't too well off. Permission to land?"

There was static at the other end for a moment, then Aerrow's voice, slightly muffled, came through. "Right away." Starling saw the Condor's hangar door open up, and the sky-knight forced her poor, ailing vehicle onwards, landing hard onto the metal floor. The skimmer let out a final groan of despair, and fell silent.

The Storm Hawks came down to greet her. Indeed, she was well-received. Junko shook his head as he saw the condition of the skimmer. In his response to Starling's question, he answered, "Yes, I can fix it, but it's gonna take a while."

Aerrow smiled at her. "So you're stuck here."

And that was that.

* * *

Now I shall skip a couple of incessantly unnecessary hours, because they don't hold any value in my tale. Mine is a story where someone shall lose a bet, and someone shall win it. And as consequence leads to consequence, so does embarrassment lead to amusement. Though somehow, neither is related to either. If you know what I mean…

You might not, anyway. So it doesn't really matter.

At about 7.30 PM, local time, our victim, Aerrow, stood positioning himself in a way that he could see Piper standing out on the balcony, without being seen himself. Which is all very good in the ironic tale of young love.

There is no painless way of telling this story. No get-out-of-jail-free card. No instruction manual. Not even any insurance. And I know I am only stalling. Sooner or later, I'll have to get down to it.

"If you like a girl, you should tell her." Starling came up from behind Aerrow, startling the sanity out of him. He turned abruptly, to find her smiling at him almost amusedly.

"I don't know what you're talking about…" he said, taking a hand to the back of his neck.

"Of course you don't." She stood beside him. "Tell her. Tell her or it might be too late!"

"Starling…" he began defensively, but gave up halfway. There isn't usually another excuse for standing and watching someone dreamily. "What do you expect me to say?" he sighed then.

The older woman shrugged. "Speak from the heart," she replied before snorting in laughter. Aerrow rolled his eyes. Speak from the heart he _should. _But something like that is easier said than done. They say Actions Speak Louder Than Words, but in some cases, actions come more easily. And they are plenty more useful.

Starling seemed to have grasped this notion. "Kiss her," she advised finally. Aerrow looked as though Starling had just told him to strip and dance the Macarena with Finn.

"Are you crazy!" he cried. "Oh gosh. Are you crazy?"

"What?" Starling replied, confused. "You _want _to, don't you?"

"I…That's besides the point!"

"So what is the point, eh?"

"The point is—" Aerrow began, but faltered, and muttered instead, "Let me go ask Junko if your skimmer is fixed."

Starling narrowed her eyes. "Don't bother," she said testily, "I'll do it myself." And she stamped off, fairly annoyed.

* * *

Now here is where our story takes a little twist. Finn, who had been listening in to all of this, decided it was time he made some money. So when Starling walked out of the bridge, he pulled her aside, saying, "Hey, I have an idea."

"What kind of idea?" she asked.

Finn said, "If they kiss, I'll give you a hundred bucks. If they don't, you give me a hundred bucks. Cool?"

Starling frowned. "Isn't that a risky bet?"

"Nope," Finn said confidently, "You know, Aerrow wouldn't mind fighting all of Cyclonia on his own armed with a teaspoon. But get rejected by Piper? He doesn't have the guts…" his smirk almost became a sneer.

Starling frowned again. "I disagree."

"That's your problem," Finn answered, "Are we on?"

Starling's grin matched his. "Yes. I believe we are."

* * *

"Aerrow," she commanded when she entered the bridge again. Certainly, she found the boy watching the girl, and the younger sky-knight jumped three feet into the air when his name was called. He turned, closing his eyes in horror. When he opened them, he was greeted by Starling's maniac grin.

"Starling," he said, just as ominously as she had.

"Aerrow," she said again, as though trying to make a point. So obviously, just to annoy her, the boy started to repeat his words.

"Starling."

Said woman rolled her eyes. "Stop behaving like a child," she snapped, "Be a man, and kiss the girl!" Her eyes narrowed to slits. It looked as though she was blinking from a bright light.

"You. Are. Mad," he said, laying weight on each word. "Mad."

"You are mad too," she contradicted, "Madly in love."

The words sounded _so _strange coming from her lips that Aerrow couldn't help himself. He started to laugh. Not only had _Starling _said it, but what had been said was such a cliché!

Finn, listening in from behind the door, also started to snicker. Trust me, had you been there, you too wouldn't have been able to control your giggles. Therefore, excuse your narrator for a moment.

AHAHAHHAHHAHAHAAHAH!

Okay, thank you very much. Let's carry on.

So, as I was saying: Aerrow started to laugh. Starling made a face and took him by the shoulders, shaking him hard. "Aerrow. Now!" she said, and without waiting for a response, she pushed him out to the balcony. The boy fell flat, his hand knocking against Piper's shin.

The commotion and the fact that someone's hand was at her leg, the girl looked down to see him quite pained, wincing as he stood. Her eyes widened for something to say, and curiosity made her turn around.

Of course, Starling ducked out of view.

Piper looked about for another moment, slight suspicion etched on her face, and her eyes went back to Aerrow. "You alright?" she asked cautiously.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll live," he said, ever charming. "So, what brings you out here on a night like this?"

…Actually, I'd like to take back the words 'ever charming'. Probably change them to 'ever cheesy'.

"Ah, nothing…" she said, shrugging. Unable to meet his penetrating green eyes, she looked to the clouds.

"You sure?" he asked, instantly aware that Piper wasn't herself.

* * *

"I'm going to win," Starling said with finality, as she crouched behind the couch, somehow eyeing them from an odd angle. Finn, who happened to have come out from his own hiding place, was right beside her. He shook his head vehemently.

"No, you're not. Who knows Aerrow for longer, eh?"

Her lips tightened, and she said nothing. She was going to have her one hundred bucks if it was the last thing she did. In a manner of speaking. At least.

* * *

"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked, words of kissing her long gone from his mind. He put a hand on her shoulder, "Piper?"

She shook it off, and said, "Well…nothing in particular…it's just…nothing. Nevermind."

"Awh come on," he said, trying to charm her again with his smile, "Tell me!"

"Aerrow, forget it!" but the force in her voice left her and she sighed in frustration. "It's nothing, okay?" she cried, her voice bordering on anger.

Aerrow sighed. "Fine." He stood beside her any way. It was just so pleasant to be next to someone like her on a night as fairytale-like as this. The stars, the clouds, and a gentle breeze that loved you…

* * *

"Ooooh…" Finn said maliciously, "Looks like Piper's getting mad!"

"No, she's not," Starling muttered, well aware that she was, in fact, getting mad.

"Yes she is," Finn sang. "And don't you deny it!"

"Shut UP!"

* * *

"Hey Aerrow?" Piper said suddenly, breaking the silence. "Why, exactly, are Finn and Starling spying on us?"

Aerrow almost caught on his own breath. "They're—how did you know?"

She winked at him. "Storm Hawk."

He laughed. "Yeah…I dunno why, either."

They suddenly stopped, staring into each other's eyes. The breeze had stilled. You could hear their heartbeats.

* * *

"Oh!" Starling whispered, clutching Finn's arm in excitement, "Oh!"

"Nah, won't happen," Finn scoffed, but he was thinking, _Oh no…_

* * *

Piper leaned in.

Aerrow leaned in.

Piper suddenly stood on tip-toe, and whispered in Aerrow's ear, "I don't want an audience."

She turned around, and walked off, winking good-naturedly.

* * *

Starling paled.

Piper walked out of the balcony and into the bridge, giving them a curious look as she went.

Finn didn't even bother with stealth. He punched the air, shouting, "YEAHH!" Then Aerrow came out, a wicked grin on his face as he eyed Starling and his sharpshooter, before following Piper out of the bridge.

Finn smirked, stretched out his hand, and said, "Someone owes me something."

Starling glared. Waves of anger and utter disbelief ran through her, as she searched her pocket and found some money. She slapped said cash into the boy's hands, and competitively said, "This isn't over."

* * *

Now believe what you will. What went unseen was what happened after Piper and Aerrow left the bridge. Of course, the record states that Finn won, fair and square…

…But you know…

Politics.

* * *

**A/N: This is the third time I've written this story, and the second time I've **_**rewritten **_**it, but it is such an improvement, I think. Anyway, thanks for reading. Leave a review! **


End file.
